23:52
Gaelle So
2 Comments

It’s blueberry season here in Canada! And I have to say that Canadians seem to really love this little purple berry, and cook them in many different ways. A lot of recipes, sweet or savoury, celebrate this little fruit, of which the season unfortunately never lasts long enough. So hurry up, let’s eat them all while they’re around on market stalls or in gardens (or in the forest for the ones who have the chance to go foraging for wild blueberries!).

Little botanical note : there are actually different kinds of blueberries, which in French, we call bleuetandmyrtille, which are translated in english by blueberry and billberry. They are from the same botanical family, Vaccinium, but are actually quite different. The Bleuet, or blueberry, is an indigenous berry from North America, with a distinct blue colour, and a white flesh. Myrtilles, or billberries, are originally from Europe and Asia, and have a darker colour, close to black or dark purple and a purple flesh. The bushes that produce these little berries are also different : the blueberry one is taller than the billberry bush, which is very close to the ground. Blueberries can be harvested in the wild, but are mostly cultivated (Canada is a big producer and consumer of the little berry), while billberries are mostly picked in the wild.

Blueberries can be cooked in so many different ways, in tarts or pies, in cakes, muffins, cookies, ice creams or sorbets, but also in savoury recipes like chutneys or onion and blueberry confits, that are delicious served with a nice cheese plater.

Today, I’ve decided to use blueberries in a very simple cake. The batter takes only minutes to put together, and the result is quite surprising and very tasty.

There’s no sugar in this recipe, in which I've decided to highlight another very Canadian ( and especially Québécois) ingredient : maple syrup. Be careful when buying your maple syrup, and make sur you get a 100% pure maple syrup and not one of those fake maple flavoured syrups, which are usually just corn syrup with artificial flavours. Nothing beats a pure maple syrup.

You can, if you wish, replace the almond milk with some coconut milk, which pairs really well with the blueberries.

Replace blueberries by wild ones if you can find any, or by any other seasonal berries, like blackberries or raspberries.

Toss the blueberries in 1 tsp of flour, just to coat them. This step will help the blueberries not to sink at the bottom of your cake.

Mix the flour, semolina, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.

In another bowl, beat the eggs, then add the melted coconut oil, maple syrup and almond milk. Stir well, then add this mix to the dry ingredients. Stir to combine, then fold in the blueberries. Pour the batter in a cake tin, lined with baking paper. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until golden and cooked through.